The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died July 4 at Combat Outpost Zerok, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked the outpost using small arms and indirect fires. They were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Petty Officer Second Class Tony Michael Randolph, 22, of Henryetta, Okla. died July 6 in an improvised explosive device attack on his convoy in northern Afghanistan. Randolph was assigned as an individual augmentee to Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of 2 soldiers supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pfc. Nicolas H. J. Gideon, 20, of Murrieta, Calif., died July 6 at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered earlier that day in Paktya, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Capt. Mark A. Garner, 30, of North Carolina, died July 6 in Argandab District, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels, Germany.

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The Department of Defense announced today the death of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died July 6 in Konduz, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Spc. Christopher M. Talbert, 24, of Galesburg, Ill., died July 7 in Shindad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment, Marion, Ill.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Darren Ethan Tate, 21, of Canyon, Texas died of non-hostile causes July 8 at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the USS Iwo Jima, and deployed as an Individual Augmentee to Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan.

The Army released suicide data for the month of June today. Among active-duty soldiers there were no confirmed suicides and nine potential suicides. In May, the Army reported one confirmed suicide and 16 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since that time, seven have been confirmed and nine remain under investigation.

There have been 88 reported active-duty suicides in the Army during calendar year 2009. Of these, 54 have been confirmed, and 34 are pending determination of manner of death. For the same period in 2008, there were 67 confirmed suicides among active-duty soldiers.

A Fort Richardson soldier died Monday of wounds suffered during an attack on his unit in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced today. Eight other soldiers in the same unit were wounded in the incident.

Gideon's unit came under attack Monday at Forward Operating Base Salerno in Paktya, Afghanistan. He was wounded during the attack and died later in the day, according to a statement from Fort Richardson.

An Army carry team carries a transfer case containing the remains of Pfc. Nicolas Hugh Joseph Gideon at Dover Air Force Base, Del., July 7, 2009. Statements from the Department of Defense and Fort Richardson said Gideon, 20, of Murrieta, Calif., was wounded Monday when his unit came under attack in Paktya, Afghanistan, from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. He died later the same day. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson. He is the third Fort Richardson soldier to die in Afghanistan in recent days.

Thanks for collecting these & posting updates. I used to read the list
from newspapers every week, but I don't always stop to think & pray
for these brave soldiers I can't help but think of Sen Kerry saying.

How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam -– How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”

-- John Kerry in his 1971 appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee